Animals/Theories
General DHARMA logos *The DI only uses white animals for experiments. * All animals experimented on by DHARMA Initiative have a logo on them somewhere, including the polar bears. The logo may be under the bears' fur or on a fur-less place like a foot pad. Lip/ear are common locations on animals where researchers/vets put tattoos. **We've only seen a shark and rabbit with it, right? The Polar Bears didn't as far as I can remember. ***Correct - we haven't seen a DHARMA tattoo on a polar bear, but we have seen a polar bear wearing the DHARMA logo (a leather tag) - the bear Charlotte dug up in Tunisia. Remote control * The shark was being remote controlled/manipulated using technology from the Aquarium section of the Hydra station as a way of either spying or thwarting the survivors of the raft assault. **Lost Via Domus shows the mechanical shark hoisted above the water in The Hydra Station. Origin * The chickens and boar were introduced by the crew of the . * The chickens and boar were introduced by earlier Polynesian settlers, or the builders of the statue. Top of the food chain * Both the polar bears and great white sharks are at the top of their respective food chains. Ursus maritimus and Carcharodon carcharias are both mentioned in the blast door map notations, indicating the mapmaker's knowledge of these animals on the Island, and perhaps their relevance. Purpose * The shark played an important role within the DHARMA Initiative's philanthrophic research, such as serving as a test object for new drugs. Specific animals Birds symbolize betrayal The appearance of birds is a signal that a betrayal is imminent. Examples: * When Kate is convinced by the farmer to stay one more night so that he can turn her over to the police, there are a number of plates with birds on them on the walls. * When Jack's father tells him, as a child, that he doesn't have what it takes, there is a statue of a bird on a table. * When Charlie tries to get his brother to break up Drive Shaft according to a pledge they made to each other, his brother refuses, telling Charlie to "grab a bird", English slang for one of the number of groupies in the room. * When Boone tells Shannon about finding the door to the hatch - against Locke's wishes - birds wings can be heard fluttering in the background. * When Sawyer is about to betray Cassidy, there is a statue of a bird on a table and also a birdcage on a different table. * In the same episode, when Sawyer is betraying Locke by getting him to move the guns, Locke is looking through a book with "Owl" in the title. * Charlie is betrayed by his vision, where he sees a dove that encourages him to save the baby in the name of good; instead the rest of the survivors think he is trying to harm the baby and becomes a pariah. * When Michael is leading Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley into the Others' trap the Hurley Bird flies over. :*The Hurleybird is Jacob as Horus, flying in his green falcon form. When the Hurleybird appeared in Exodus Part 2, Smokey was also present. Jacob's Nemesis, Set in Smoke Monster form, could have been meeting with Jacob or waiting with Jacob in their ongoing competition over the Losties. According to the DVD subtitles, the bird's screeches say "Hurley" in both appearances. He was probably warning the Losties of the Smoke Monster through Hurley. When Horus flies over the Losties on the way into the Other's trap in Live Together, Die Alone, he was probably observing and warning the Losties by screeching Hurley's name. Jacob shows an unusual trust in Hurley, talking to him directly about current circumstances in their encounters in The Incident, Part 1 and in LA X, Parts 1 & 2. Jacob is much more subtle with everyone else. So it makes sense that he would screech Hurley instead of anyone else. Also, Hurley sounds more like a bird cry than Hugo and would be harder for anyone else to detect. * Just as Charlie and Claire seem to be reconciling their differences, migratory seagulls appear, and Charlie, concerned by Desmond's ominous behavior, tells Claire that her idea to capture one is stupid, which leads to an argument and temporary break-up. * When Walt is asking for help with his homework (on birds) when in Australia, his step-father ignores him, which results in a bird flying into the window and dying. When Walt's mother dies, his step-father calls Michael and tells him he doesn't want to look after Walt anymore. * An alternative interpretation to this incident with Walt is a European version of an old superstition. When a bird flies into a closed door or window, and then dies, it is symbolic of there being a death soon to follow, usually within the immediate family. This could be interpreted as either the untimely death of Walt's mother, or the eventual death of Michael. * While Anthony Cooper is conning John Locke they often hunt birds together. Of course, Cooper betrays his son by taking his kidney and later by throwing him out a window and causing his paralysis. Bunny Cats * The cat named Nadia is a manifestation of the "Monster". ** However, Mikhail has had the cat for some time. It is unlikely the Monster would appear in a form significant to Sayid, but spend most of its time in that form with Mikhail. Also, Sayid, unlike others who have seen apparitions from their past on the Island (Jack, Kate, Eko, Hurley), has never encountered the Monster in black smoke form. ** Damon Lindelof commented about "Sayid's little cat" along with Kate's horse in connection with the magic box in the March 26, 2007 episode of The Official LOST Podcast. If it's true that Kate's horse is a manifestation of the smoke monster, then Lindelof's comment may indicate that the cat might be as well.http://thelostmeister.blogspot.com/2007/04/expos-and-other-commentary-official.html * Nadia/the "Monster" watched Sayid to see if he would kill Mikhail in order to determine whether Sayid was a "good person" or not. * The cats seen in are actually one and the same. ** Unlikely as one is male and the other is female. * Possible cultural references: ** The Prisoner - A black cat appeared in cameo roles in two episodes of this show ("Dance of the Dead", and "Many Happy Returns") which are reminiscent of the cats in Lost. ** - A cat in a box with a firecracker may be an allusion to this. Kate's horse * The term "Dark Horse" refers to a shady kind of character who has many secrets. Clearly both Kate, and Sawyer, are characters who would epitomize the term Dark Horse. Therefore, this is most likely the meaning of Kate's obsidian equestrian visions. *Could be from the Black Stallion. * The horse appears to be very real; however, it is a group hallucination, since both Kate and Sawyer can see it. Kate touches the horse, so if it is a hallucination, it is not merely an auditory and visual one. ** Not very likely, as Sawyer sees it first without any prior mention of its existence. This is reinforced by Kate asking "Do you see what I see?" and Sawyer responding that he sees a horse Group hallucinations are usually the product of suggestions being passed between people, who then form an immediate consensus on what's being observed, but no such information passes between Kate and Sawyer --- they form their impressions entirely independently. *** This is actually incorrect. She did mention the horse to Sawyer when she was mashing up the fruit she was talking to him saying when you wake up you will find this funny me deeding you like a baby. Then goes on to say I saw a horse today. * It is a manifestation of the Monster. ** The horse is roughly the same colour as the Monster. Although that is a little trivial... * The horse is the same one that caused the marshal to crash his car. The Others, possibly only Jacob, used one of the horses the Others took from the Dharma Initiative to crash the car, enabling Kate to remain free for possible candidacy, since Jacob didn't cross her off until she began taking care of Aaron. The appearance of the horse on island is due either to Jacob's wild-horse policy, or he deliberately sent it to her in order to test her suitability for the island protector role. * The horse is Wayne reincarnated, similar to Sawyer's boar. ** Not likely since when Sawyer woke up and chocked her he asked when did you kill me. Implying Wayne took over Sawyers body. * The horse is a sign that Kate is saved. It did save her before by crashing the marshal's car after her arrest. * The Smoke Monster/Island manifested itself through the horse (as well as through Sawyer, posing as Wayne) in order to test Kate. When she admitted her father's murder and spoke truthfully about why she did it, her last meeting with the horse was peaceful. If she hadn't told the truth, the encounter may have ended very differently. * Horse escaped from The Flame. ** This seems likely as it was too well groomed to be wild. *** Agreed: it has clearly been well-curried, bears no scars or bald spots (produced by rubbing against trees), and its hooves are trimmed. But even if it escaped from a pen, its appearance is so well-maintained that it cannot have been loose for more than a week or so. * The horse came out of Ben's Magic Box * The term "dark horse" is typically used to describe a political candidate who might be viewed as an unlikely choice. This could symbolize Kate taking on more and more leadership qualities, rather than the attitude of "I'm coming with you" that she personified in Season One. * When first seen off Island, it is an apparition of either Jacob or his Nemesis (latter more likely), ensuring Kate will make it to the Island. * This horse is one of those that Charles Widmore (and the others) use to ride on when he was the leader of the others. We can see Charles riding on a horse when he attacks Jack and Kate when they were hiding in the bushes outside of the Others Camp. * The symbology of a horse represents freedom, strength, grace, and very often conflict of some sort. Black connotes negative aspects in horses, more so than with any other animal totem. When paired with a white horse, a black represents death (although ironically, to dream of a white horse is to invoke a death omen). Destruction, as well as impetuosity and rebellion, are also bound up in the symbology of the black horse, which all in all seems to be a metaphor for Kate's story as a whole...as well as Sawyer's, come to think of it. * The horse represents Kate's past becuase that same looking horse helped her escape once before. Polar bears * The polar bears are a result of the DHARMA Initiative's experiments. Tree frog * The tree frog will appear again, it is Sawyer's manifestation of the "Monster". * The frog is a manifestation of Sawyer's conscience and his crushing it may be a creative device to indicate a shift to his darker side, especially as he had been getting softer in previous episodes. *The tree frog was actually...just a tree frog driving poor tired Sawyer bonkers. Shark * Sharks are are known to have an extraordinary resistance to cancer and other diseases. The DHARMA Initiative may have been studying this trait in order to cure cancer. * The DHARMA shark represents all that is to occur on the Island. MiB can inhabit the sharks as well as humans, representing the doom that all the Islanders face. It's like JAWS on steroids. * Hákarl is the ancient Icelandic fermented shark. The DHARMA shark was created as means preventing the extinction of basking shark. *The DHARMA shark is another form of Jacob, and is a part of Jacob's Master Plan (Jacob/Theories). In attacking the raft in the first season, it not only prevented two candidates (Sawyer and Jin) from leaving the island, it also allowed them to meet with the tail section survivors, in accordance with Jacob's Master Plan. Jacob is still alive in the form of the shark, and thus it will be instrumental in his resurrection, thus completing Jacob's Master Plan to become a man/shark god. Cow *The reddish cow on the Island represents Hathor, the Egyptian goddess. One of her attributes is fertility, a main theme on the show, and she is sometimes described as being reddish-black at birth. Boars *The boars signify 'Set', the enemy of Horus. While the boars are ever-present in Hawaii, where the show is filmed, and makes sense as a food source for the Losties and a naturally occurring vicious predator, black pigs are also one guise of Set. When Locke first hunts for boar in Season One, he encounters one that attacks Michael and forces Kate and Michael to leave, creating a convenient opportunity for Locke to be isolated. Locke behaves strangely and insists on finishing the hunt himself. The boar has disappeared into the elephant grass, and as Kate and Michael are headed away the noise of the approaching smoke monster can be heard. Shortly after, Locke has an enlightening encounter with Smokey that forever bonds him to Island. * The boars are a method by which the Island leads people to certain things that they need to see/experience. See also * The "Monster"/Theories Category:Animals